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Saturday, August 13, 2005

Ballpark Franks and More

$4.25 for a small bottled water. Four dollars and twenty-five cents. For WATER. And tap water is not an option. By the end of the night, I was a little irritated by the exorbitant prices of such standard-bearers. After visiting nearly every booth, kiosk, stand, and counter asking for a cup to fill with water, and being repeatedly turned away, I gave up and just drank my fill at the tiny water fountain that we found in a tucked away corner behind the beer stand. (I believe one of the two was even out of order.)

Where was I, you ask? Walking the promenade level of the Ballpark on the Bay. I think right now they are calling it SBC Park, and prior to that it was called Pac Bell Park. (What's up with that trend anyway...can't we just call something by a name that sticks? What ever happened to Candlestick Park or Fenway Park or Wrigley Field--or is that named after the stick of gum? Okay, I'm veering WAY off subject now.)

Occasionally, not too often, the ballpark hosts concerts, so there we were, enjoying the antics of the Black Eyed Peas and the melodic musings of the Dave Matthews Band, and strolling (at times weaving) through the crowd, taking in the variety of food options which I had heard were over and above what you typically get at most concert venues. There was the Doggie Diner, which seemed to offer the standard foil wrapped steamed franks, fries, and overpriced mass-market beer, as well as other walk-ups offering more or less the same items, burgers, pizza (if you want to call it pizza but I won't go there), corndogs, even turkey burgers and I think I saw veggie dogs at one place. But the Gilroy Garlic Fries walk-up stood out in the crowd (two locations on the promenade level).

Nearly everwhere you went in the stadium, the pungent scent of garlic wafted over the crowd. After passing too many people to count balancing trays of the hot, crisp, garlic-coated potatoes, we decided to cue up and get ourselves some. The line was long, but we had beer. We made some friends in line. Finally, we got our own. They were good, but not great. Certainly better than most fries I've sampled at large events such as this. About half were crisp and speckled with just enough garlic and herbs, the other half were soggy and overwhelmed with garlic.

Continuing on our quest, we came across a small stand tucked away in a corner offering fresh sausages such as hot links, bratwurst, and Polish kielbasa. On a soft, sesame-studded bun, topped with sauerkraut or peppers and onions, all for $5, this was a steal! And it was pretty good too. The "brat with kraut" that I ordered was plump, juicy, and tasted like it had just been cooked.

Overall, the stands seemed to be the way to go. There were freshly roasted cinnamon nuts, microbrews and other quality beers (including Fat Tire, Prohibition Ale, and Lagunitas IPA), kettle corn, and the variety of sausages I mentioned previously. But personally, I think next time I'll eat in advance and spend my remaining calories on beer (that is, if I win the lottery...a bottle of beer cost upwards of $8 EACH!).